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?he fatMle #ttijuiw. YORKVILLE, S. C. : THURSDAY MORNING, JUNE 12, 1879. How to Orderthe Enquirer.?Write the name oi me suuscriuer very pjaimy, give jwo.-vmvo, county and State, in full, and send the amount of , the subscription by draft or post office money order, or enclose the money in a registered letter. Postage.?The Enquirer is delivered free of postage to all subscribers residing in York county, who receive the paper at post-offices within the county; and to all other subscribers the postage is paid by the publisher. Our subscribers, no matter where they receive the paper, are not liable for postage, it being prepaid at the post-office here, without additional cnarge to the subscriber. Watch the Figures.?The date on the "addresslabel" shows the time to which the subscription is paid. If subscribers do not wish their papers discontinued, the date must be kept in advance. Cash.?It must be distinctly understood that our terms for subscription, advertising and jobwork, are cash in advance. PROCEEDINGS OF CONGRESS. In the Senate on the 2nd, Mr. Edmunds called attention to what he alleged was the unfair way in which ex parte charges were printed for public information by the Wallace committee, so as to be mistaken for established facts. Mr. Wallace defended the course of the committee, and debate ensued, participated in by Messrs. Edmunds, Dawes, Thurman and Blaine. Mr. Thurman said onesided statements were also made public as evidence by the Ku Klux committee in the South. The portions of the testimony bearing against the Democrats found their way into print, and not the rest. He favored making all the testimony public, and letting the people judge for themselves. The morning hour expired, and Mr. McDonald's resolution went over. In the House, among the bills introduced and referred, was one by Mr. Springer of Illinois, prohibiting any soldiers stationed within two miles of any place where special or general election of Representatives in Congress is being held, from leaving his barracks for any purpose except that of relieving guard or casting his vote on the day of election. In the Senate on the 3rd, the unfinished business, being the House bill to establish post-routes, was considered. The amendments to the bill, made in committee of the whole, were agreed to, and the bill passed. The Senate then took up the bill to amend an act creating the Northern Judicial District of Texas, and pending the consideration thereof, went into executive session and then adjourned. In the House, the bill amending the stat utes relative to the removal of causes from the State to the Federal Courts was resumed and discussed. Mr. Cox made a speech in favor of the repeal of the test oath laws, after which the House adjourned. In the Senate on the 4th, Mr. Bayard, from the judiciary committee, reported with amendments, the Senate bill repealing sections 301, 820 and 821 of the revised statutes, (which prescribe the jurors' test oath, etc.), and said he would probably ask leave to call it up the next day for consideration. Ordered to be printed and placed on the calendar. The bill amending the act creating the Northern Judicial district of Texas was considered and passed. In the House, several bills were introduced and referred. A resolution for a thorough investigation of the National banking system was adopted. In the Senate on the 5th, by a vote of 28 yeas to 19 nays, the bill reported on the preceding day by Mr. Bayard, relating to juries and the repeal of sections 801, 820 and 821 r\P fko PnTrion/1 Qfofnfno too a fftlron 11 n TVflV V/l tuu X?W T lOV/U tjvuiuyvo) 1IMW ?? - Hampton, of South Carolina, after briefly supporting the bill, proceeded to speak upon the general political issues of the session. [A full report of his speech is printed in another column.] Mr. Bayard followed Mr. Hampton, speaking at length in support of the bill. After Mr. Bayard concluded his speech, Mr. Edmunds, of Vermont, then moved to amend the pending bill by the addition of a clause prohibiting the exclusion from jury service in any State or Federal Court of any duly qualified person on account of race, color or previous condition of servitude. This led to a half humorous colloquy between Mr. Hill, of Georgia, and Mr. Conk ling, of New York. Mr. Thurman, of Ohio, remarked that the gentleman (Conkling) had, perhaps read of the celebrated English statesman who said he acquired eloquence by speaking every day and on every subject for the first year of his career and was imitating the latter's example. After debate the amendment was relented. Several ntfmr amendments were Dro posed and discussed in a desultory manner and the Senate adjourned without action on the bill. In the House, the bill to prevent the spread of contagious diseases among domestic animals was taken up and discussed, but no action reached up to the hour of adjournment. In the Seoate on the 6th, the bill to repeal sections 801, 820 and 821 of the Revised Statues, relative to jurors in the United States Courts, was taken up, and after lengthy discussion, was passed by a strict party vote? yeas, 28 ; nays, 16. The Senate then adjourned to Monday. The proceedings of the House were generally unimportant. On the 7th, the House was engaged, in committee of the whole, on the bill making additional appropriations for the service of the post-office department. The bill was read by sections and Keifer offered as a substitute for the bill an amendment appropriating in addition to the amount heretofore appropriated, $453,000, for the payment of letters carried for the fiscal year ending, June, 1880, and $70,000 for the payment of increased salaries of letter carriers for the fiscal year ending June, 1879. Cox moved to increase the appropriation from $353,000 to $415,000. A Anenfl/1 oft-rat* \t?\y i nh Pay 'a mnflATl UldUUddlUli) tuouvu anvi nmvu \/va w was agreed to. After further discussion the committee arose and the bill was reported to the House. Keifer's substitute, as amended by Cox's amendment, was adopted. The bill was then passed and the House adjourned. In the Senate on the 9th, a resolution to discharge the finance committee from the further consideration of the Warner silver bill and to declare it before the Senate for action, was postponed. On motion of Harris, of Massachusetts, McDonald's bill authorizing the employment of the militia and land and naval forces of the United States in certain cases, was taken up. Harris began at 12:40 to read a speech in support of the bill. Mr. Harris deprecated the line of argument pursued by the other side, which inevitably must revive sectional bitterness and tend to obscure the real issue. He argued that the con stitution gives the States exclusive authority over the qualification of voters, leaving Congress only the power to cause elections to be held, should the State refuse to do so, this being intended as a means of self-preservation and not to be used in ordinary cases. There is no constitutional authority for the appointment of supervisors and marshals of elections, who, though nominally acting to prevent fraud, really engage in it in the interest of party, their devotion to which is the chief ground for their selection. It is useless, he addedr for States to prescribe qualifications for voters as its duty, if these officers can over-ride State laws and dictate according to their pleasure who may or may not vote. No State is so corrupt as not to be trnatpd xcith tho p/vndiiof nf ita nwn plpftmns. After quoting from testimony showing the corrupt practices which have grown up under these laws, Mr. Harris closed by earnestly expressing a desire for a return to simpler and safer constitutional methods. At the conclusion of Mr. Harris' remarks, the Senate adjourned. The House "was engaged in the reference of bills introduced under the call of States. In the Senate on the 10th, the legislative, executive and judicial appropriation bill was received from the House and referred to the committee on appropriations. A concurrent resolution providing for adjournment on the 17th was also received and referred. On motion of Hill, of Georgia, McDonald's bill authorizing the use of the army and navy in certain cases, and repealing the election law, was taken up and postponed until to morrow, when Hill will speak thereon. On motion of Voorhees, the House joint resolution providing for the erection of a monument to. raark the birth-place of Washington was taken up and passed without a dissenting voice. In the House, a bill from the appropriation committee was reported making appropriations for certain judicial expenses, and after a general debate was passed by a strict party vote?102 to 85. The House then adjourned. SOUTH CAROLINA NEWS. ? The Spartanburg and Asheville Railroad has been completed to Hendersonville. ? The State Dental Convention will meet in Charleston, on Monday, the 7th of July. ? More than one-fourth of the whole of the State and county taxes due by Newberry county, was paid.last month. ? A. L. Tobias, Esq., a well known insurance agent of Charleston, died in that city on Saturday last, aged nearly fifty-four years. ? Secretary of State Sims, who has been in ill health for some time, left Columbia for the Hot Springs in Virginia, on Monday last. ? A farmer of Anderson county claims that he has a field of wheat, embracing six acres, which will yield one hundred and eighty bushels. ? The indications are good for a fair peach crop in the vicinity of Columbia, the damage by the heavy frost in April not being as great as was^upposed. ? The Review says the cotton in the lower part of Lancaster county is being severely injured by small worms which feed upon the roots of the young plants. ? The Greenville News mentions that the Piedmont Factory at that place, has recent ly received an order for forty bales of shirting, to be shipped to China. ? The Ledger claims that Mr. Amos Cook, of Flat Creek, Lancaster county, is luxuriating on ripe peaches. Whether of this or last year's growth is not stated. ? Governor Simpson has re appointed Julius Mills treasurer, and J-. M. Brawley auditor of Chester county. Also, W. B. Dunlap, treasurer, and T. F. Clyburn, auditor of Lancaster county. ? Mr. W. H. Westbrook, of the Rossville section of Chester county, has one hundred and twenty acres of corn which is knee-high, and one hundred and twenty watermelon vines j with creepers three feet long. ? Major D. J. Devane, of Wilmington, N. j C., has been appointed by the United States j Circuit 'Court, now in session at Raleigh, a commissioner to sell the Wilmington, Columbia and Augusta Railroad, under a decree of foreclosure. ? The sales of commercial fertilizers in Anderson county aggregate 2,171 tons, against 1,786 tODs for last year. The Intelligencer suggests that it would probably be better not to hold any indignation convention next winter. ? On the plantation of Dr. Clayton, in Anderson county, rabbits have been so destructive to his wheat crop, that he recently commenced a war of extermination against them, which resulted in the killing of five hundred in one week. The trial of D. F. Fleming and William Gregg, under indictment in Aiken county, for conspiracy to defraud that county out of a large sum of money in connection with the purchase of a building for a court house, has been removed to Orangeburg, where the case will be tried. ? In Lancaster county, one day last week, Spinier Crawford, while at work in a field, cut a large black snake in twain with a hoe. He took in his hand that part of the snake where was the head. No sooner had he touched it than he received a smart sting on his arm, and in fifteen minutes was in convulsions. He had about twelve during the day; but is recovering under medical treatment. ? The Washington correspondent of the Charleston News and Courier says: "It is confidently predicted that the Greenbackers will organize a strong party in South Carolina before the next general election, and it is said with equal confidence that the woods in that State are full of idle and anxious politicians who will willingly volunteer to become candidates for State and National offices upon a Greenback platform. The colored people will go en-masse after these leaders, both : from their natural desire for plenty of money | and of their slumbering opposition to the Democratic party." MERE-MENTION. The death of Geu^James Shields, a hero of ! the Mexican war, is announced as having oc! curred at Ottumwa, Iud., on Sunday night of ' last week. He was a native of Ireland, and i? i a 1 oat i wus uurii iuuy \j9 iuvi, uuc nuuuicu ' and eighty-three cotton factories have been , started iu the South since the war. Mrs. Benner complains that her pension, (8o40 per annum,) is too small, and Representative Springer is going to try to have it increased to $1,000 a year. Prominent Republicans all admit the Democratic ticket in Ohio to be a strong one. Jefferson Davis has declined a large offer to make the tour of the North and lecture. The Legislature of Texas has passed a Moffet liquor law, similar to that of Virginia. President Hayes, it is said, will spend August and September at his home in Fremont, Ohio. The deatli of Baron Lionel Nathan de Rothschild will perhaps create more commotion in the financial world than the decease of a crowned i monarch. The great firm will proceed iu its career of money making, however, as active-1 ly as ever. It is reported that R. B. Elliott is preparing to change his residence to Nassau. There are about one hundred and twenty Confederate soldiers buried at Anderson ville, Ga. The South Carolina Representatives and Senators in Congress have been interviewed a second time on the political situation. They are all in accord on the subject of passing the appropriation bills, which they contend ought to be done, and then the next most sensible thing would be for Congress to adjourn. A printing office now occupies the room where Crockett and other heroes of the Alamo fell in defense of Texan independence. It is an old saying, with farmers, that a dry May presages a good crop year. If it be true, then there is a prospect for a good crop year in 1879. A thoughtful invalid took a coffin along when he went from Boston to Flori' - .... . . I T. da, and his body was returneci in it. n is rumored that three cases of yellow fever have already been discovered in Vicksburg. The colored missionary Baptist Association, in session at Atlanta last week, decided to have nothing to do with the negro exodus movement from the South, and declared that they were willing to live and die in Georgia. Forty six thousand two hundred and eighty-six persons emigrated last year from Germany, very nearly 5,000 more than iu the preceding year. The number in the past ten yjars is estimated at 845,244. A funeral procession in a Massachusetts town was halted on its way to the cemetery while the body was taken into a photographer's gallery and photographed. A despatch from Paris, France, announces that two hundred and eighty eight Communists were pardoned on Thursday last. A case has been made up lor decision m tne supreme Court of the United States, to test the validity of the re-issue of United States legal teuder notes in time of peace. The question specially involved is whether these notes are a legal tender for all debts. The case goes up to the Supreme Court from New York, on appeal from a decision of Judge Blatchford sustaining the re-issue of the notes. Dr. John T. Darby, formerly professor of. anatomy and surgery in the University of South Carolina, died in New York 011 Monday afternoon last. EDITORIAL INKLINGS. Cotten Crop in the State. Under date of last Monday, the report of the Charleston Exchange gives seventytwo replies from thirty counties in South Carolina, with the following information as to the coudition of the crop for May: Acreage increase five per cent. Weather less favorable from fifty replies, more favorable from eighteen and the same as last year from four. The stands are reported as good by forty and bad by twenty-five replies. Five replies report the appearance of worms and three that replanting is necessary. Four replies report the crop three weeks later than last year, twenty-one as two weeks, thirteen as ten days, twelve as one day later; eleven the same as last year, and ten as one week earlier. Thir ty report the condition of the crop as good, thirty as bad and small, fourteen as very grassy. Labor is good in sixteen cases and scarce in sixteen. Forty-three replies report an increase in the use of fertilizers and twentynine a decrease of the same as last year. Negro Kiot in Georgia. A Savannah dispatch of Monday says that a terrible riot took place on that afternoon at Mcintosh, Liberty county, a station on the Atlantic and Gulf Railroad, between a party of negro excursionists from Bryan county and those belonging to the place. It began in a fight between two negroes, whereupon John Randall, the captain of a negro militia company from Bryan county, which company made a part of the excursionists, ordered his company to charge, which they did, bayoneting everybody within reach. The captain himself killed one jnan by running him through with his sword. There was intense excitement at this outrage, and ihe T.ihorfw enntifv nptrrnes rallied and drove the "J ? J "~b military company into the cars, and opened fire on them killing four and wounding many more and only stopped shooting when the train got out of the way, which they tried to prevent by tearing up the track. All the parties engaged were negroes. Veterans of the Mexican War. The Committee of the House of Representatives, on Invalid Pensions, have agreed to report a bill granting pensions to all the surviving soldiers of this war, and their wid ows?without distinction as to political principles. The bill directs the Secretary of the Interior to place on the pension roll the names of surviving officers and enlisted men, including militia and volunteers of the military and naval services of the United States, who served 60 days in the war of 1846 and 1847 with Mexico. An effort will be made to pass it at the present session of Congress. The act allows a pension of 88 per month, but does not apply to any person who is receiving a pension at that rate, but if his pension is less than that he shall receive enough to make it $8 per month. All persons entitled to the pension shall receive it from the passage of the act during their natural lives. Before a pension is allowed, proof shall be submitted of his or her right to it, and any person making a false oath shall be stricken from the roll. The loss of certificate of discharge shall not deprive a person of the benefits of the act, but other evidence shall be sufficient, and a land warrant granted on account of honorable service shall be taken as sufficient evidence, unless it can be proven that the warrant was fraudulently obtained. Senator Hampton's Speech. The Washington correspondent of the News and Courier says the event last Thursday at the Capitol was Mr. Hampton's speech upon the political issues of the session. All ! expressions as to the style of the speech have ; been of the most complimentary character? I the wisdom, moderation and justice of the views it presented being well calculated to i elicit general and sincere admiration and respect. As to the effects of the speech, on the ! stalwarts, the correspondent says: Perhaps no better evidence of its worth and weight could have been afforded than the uu; willing and rude tribute paid by Conkling, I ! and protracted by him throughout the short! j time that the Governor occupied the floor, j j The senator from New York may be classed , i as a gentleman under a liberal construction J of the term, but that he is not a gentleman ! he loses no opportunity like that presented today to assert in the plainest manner. While i Governor Hampton was speaking, and while ! every other person in the hall was leaning | forward with eager interest to catch his slight- j j est word, Conkling affected to bo writing a i letter, occasionally varying this very diapha- j nous performance by stopping to speak to those around him, or by rising from his seat and walking about among the desks to con-j verse with his admirers on the Republican J side. j At one time while he was engaged in writing his endless letter, Governor Hampton said in the course of his remarks that he did not j think it wise for the Democracy "to do any-1 thing which would be calculated to drive the President into the ranks of those who would trample upon him and us alike." Conkling was not so busily engaged but that he heard this, as was clearly evidenced by the raanuer in which he tossed his white woolly head and wrinkled his sneering nose, until the corners of his nostrils invaded the proper domain of his angry eyes. You see Mr. Conkling does not like Mr. Hayes since the latter euchred him in the matter of the New York Customhouse appointments, and this delicately equipped shaft of Senator Hampton went straight to his sorest spot. Logan, Blaine and Chandler all bad urgent business in the cloak-room, which apparently kept them occupied until about the time the Governor finished. A large number of orders for the speech have already been handed in?before it is printed?and it will be widely circulated throughout the North and East with the happiest results, as every one believes. Alarming, if True. The Charlotte Observer of last Friday has the following, which is alarming, provided it is not a hoax that some thoughtless person is endeavoring to perpetrate through the agency of the recipient of the letters mentioned : A letter has recently been received by a negro man at Matthews' Station, in this county, which has created a ripple of excitement iu the community. The negro, it seems, applied to a young man in the neighborhood to read the letter to him, being unable to read himself, and in this way the facts in the case became public. The letter was dated at Hampton, S. C:, and -was signed by a name to which was attached the word "secretary." The letter informed the negro man that it was now time to begin to burn house3hnd railroad bridges in the country, and went on to say that the colored men must resort to this, as they were not treated as they should be, and that their Northern friends would furnish them the money. It informed the party addressed that the "president" had 8200 for him for his service in the cause, and would come up on the train. He was, however, told to spare Monroe and Charlotte. Some reference having been made to a former letter, the negro was questioned as to this, and exhibited another signed by another name, to which was attached the word "president." ^his was: dated at Russell, S. C., and was to the same purport as that referred to. One or the other of the letters informed the negro man to whom they were addressed that he 'should send his answer to Liberty, S. C. The negro pretends to know nothing about the whole matter, except what he has heard from the letters. He has been about Matthews' Station for several weeks, and was formerly employed on the Carolina Central Railway as one of the hands who were working with the ^team-shovel. It was soon after he was discharged from the road that he came to Matthews'. He has been employed by several farmers in the neighborhood, and none have noticed anything suspicious aboyt bis conduct. The matter is undergoing investigation at the hands of several well known citizens in an around Matthews'. Letters have been written to the points in South Carolina indicated in the letters received by the ne^ro. but as vet nothiner has been heard - ? 0 -1 J ~ rt> ? from these places. Tho more conservative element in this community is disposed to look upon the matter with 110 feeling of alarm, but at the same time consider that it is one which must be investigated. In connection with this matter the News and Courier suggests that there have been rumors prevalent in many parts of the State to the effect that the defunct Radical party was reorganizing, and this may be one of their plans for "reorganizing." Correspondence of the Yorkville Enquirer. LETTER FROM BLACK'S STATION. Black's Station, S. C., June 10,1879. The crop prospects of this section are very fine, notwithstanding the ground has befen thoroughly wet but once since the 1st of March. Gardens are needing ruin very much. The wheat has some rust, though there is less on the Fultz variety than any other that has been sown, and it will yield a heavier crop. It is becoming a. favorite with the farmers of this vicinity. The farm .of Mr. John Moore, near here, is worthy of mention, from the manner in which it is conducted, being so entirely different l /?. .1 - 1 .1 1 .u- . irora Hie usual iiieuiuu ui but: [Jieaeub uny. He devotes his tirae and attention to grain and grasses and stock-raising. He usually has from 40 to 50 acres set in clover and timothy. Part of this is allotted off for grazing. He slaughtered seven hogs at one time that had run on the clover and fed awhile on corn, the lightest of which weighed 440 pounds, and the heaviest 670 pounds, net. This is equal to the blue grass region of Kentucky. Last week he cut 16 acres of clover, in itwo days, with a mowing machine. It was something new to our people to see a man seated upon a mowiug machine, holding the reins of two sleek, fat mules, cutting a heavy swarth of four feet of rich grass. Mr. Moore has two large barus, with cattle stalls under them. He saves from his stdck tons of manure and turns it under with clover. This saves him the expense of buying guano and trebles his crop, while it is a permanent fertilizer. Mr. Moore is preparing to stock his farm with thoroughbred animals of the best blood. His acreago of corn and small grain is large. He uses improved farming implements with skilled white labor exclusively. He finds a market for his bacon, corn and hay right at his door, selling it generally to those who should produce such articles on their own farms. Under a recent order from Col. G. J. Foreacre, general manager of the Air-Line Railroad, on Saturday morning last, trains left the opposite ends of the road, taking all the employes of the roadito Tocoa. The day, and the ride Were given them for recreation. The party visited Tocoa Falls, and after spending a day of enjoyment in which all, from the section hand to the highest official participated, they returned to their respective places next morning. The citizens of Union county have offered a reward of several hundred dollars for the arrest of Edwards who shot and killed John Sanders, while the latter was hoeing cotton in a field. The murder was wilful and outrageous, and it is hoped the murderer will be caught. A. Hardin, Esq., delivered at Antioch Baptist Church, on the first Saturday of this month, a lecture on church government, which was pronounced an able address. He will be ninety years of age the 21st day of j this mouth. In making a public speech, i when animated by his subject, he assumes a ' youthful appearance, stands erect, gestures j with grace and speaks with the vim of his younger days. In our trial justice's court, Marsh Hamp-! ton was tried for shooting and killing a cow j belonging to Samuel VVhitesides. He was found guilty and required to pay the sum of ?15 damage. Ego. BSF* The Chinese question has broken out in Australia. The Mongolians have been pouring into the country by the thousands, aud already the whites complain that they are j being ruined by cheap Chinese labor. The | seamen have struck against the employment I of the intruders, who will work for much smaller wages, and several serious riots have occurred in consequence at Sydney, an attempt being made on one occasion to burn the Chinese quarter of the city. Popular feeling which is influenced by rumors that | the Chinese Government means to pour its people into Australia by the v/holesale, sus-, tains the strikers, and at last accounts it was expected that the steamship companies would , yield. I SPEECH OF SENATOR HAMPTON. IN THE U. S. SENATE, JUNE 5. The bill to repeal sections 820 and 821 of the Revised Statutes of the United States, relative to jurors in the United States Courts being under consideration, Mr. IJampton said: Mr. President, I beg to acknowledge my obligations to the Senator from Delaware [Mr. Bayard] for the courtesy which enables me to submit a few remarks to the Senate; and in taking up the bill which he lias laid before the Senate, I do not propose to discuss it specially. I rather prefer to make general remarks upon the subjects which have l>een under discussion during this session. The main reason why I do not desire to speak particularly to this bill, is that I can hardly suppose that there is a Senator 011 this floor who will object to its passage, for it strikes from the statute-book one of the most infamous laws which have ever disgraced legislation. It is simply to strike off a law which was placed there, if not by mistake, by fraud, and I therefore do not feel that it is necessary * A - - A ? - ? A _ At- ^ ior me 10 enter niiu uie uiauuasiun iuuuci than simply to give an illustration of how the present law can be used to tyrannize over the people of the country. In the recent trials in the United States circuit court at Charleston, a short time ago, a jury was summoned. One of the judges who was on the bench could not take the test oath. The district attorney had been in the Confederate army; the assistant attorney had likewise been in that army. They of course could not take the test oath. And yet when the jurors were brought up every democrat had that oath applied to him, while all men who were not democrats, men who had served through the whole war, if they were republicans, were allowed to take their places upon that jury without having the oath administered to them. I think it is not necessary to say anything more to show the impropriety, to say the least, of allowing a law of that sort to stand. There are many reasons which make me reluctant to obtrude my views on the Senate at this time. I recognize fully the propriety of that unwritten rule of the Senate which imposes silence upon the new and inexperienced members of this body until they have become familiar, by association, with the experience of their older and wiser colleagues. The physical disability under which I labor not only motron nil evei-tirm nninfnl tn me hilt unfits me to do justice either to the great questions now pending o? to myself, and I cannot, therefore, address the Senate at length. Nor is it necessary to do so. Argument, rhetoric, invective, and denunciation have been exhausted by our opponents, and I can scarcely hope that any utterances of mine will allay the prejudices which have been aroused, or carry conviction to the minds of the people. These are potent reasons to enforce my silence, ana under ordinary circumstances I should have adhered to my determination to take no part in the debates of this session. But the subjects which have engaged the attention of Congress and of the country during the present session are.not of ordinary importance, and the tone and temper of the debate, which has been prolonged through weeks or vehement and angry denunciation, impose upon the representatives of the South at least the duty of honest protest. Against my wishes, therefore, and under every disadvantage imposed upon me by my physical condition, I must, as one of those representatives, ask the indulgence of the Senate while I place upon record my earnest protest against the unfairness with which we have been treated. The President pro tempore. The Chair' would state to the Senator from South Carolina that if at any time it would be more convenient to him to speak sitting, he is at perfect liberty to do so. Mr. Hampton. I thank you, sir. Day after day we have listened while Senators of great reputation, high ability, and whose words are the creed of thousands of conscientious and patriotic citizens, have denounced the opinions and the actions of southern men as revolutionary and treasonable. It has been declared that the democratic caucus rules the Senate and that the southern members rule the caucus, dictating the policy to lie pursued. The able and distinguished Senator from Ohio (Mr. Thurman) with equal truth, justice, and candor has, it is true, met and refuted that charge by assuming for the northern and western democracy the responsibility of the present political situation. But in spite of this generous assumption of responsibility on his part, the truth still remains that we of the South do make the democratic majority in this Chamber, and we are thus as responsible for what we approve and support sis for what we suggest. I have not the presumption to make any claim to leadership here, but while not attempting, to lead, it is my duty to know where and whom I follow, and for any vote which I may cast here I shall never endeavor to shield myself from responsibility behind any man or any party. If the policy I support is revolutionary, I am the revolutionist; if there is trea&on in my 'vote, I am the traitor. But, sir, I ask in all seriousness what are the issues before the Senate to wliich such language is appropriate? I might demand of Senators on the other side the proof that any action of ours was revolutionary. I might open the Constitution and reading its precise and emphatic definition of treason, ask who of us is "levying war against the United States or giving aid and comfort to their enemies," or what overt act of violence we are proposing to commit ? But I do not desire to make a mere technical argument. I desire to meet the accusation in its spirit as well as in its letter. What are the issues before us? Let us understand them distinctly. But first let me say what are not the issues we are discussing. To me there is no question, there can be none, as to the propriety of making the appropriations necessary for the support of the Goverment in all its departments. Upon this point there shall be no misapprehension of my position. By no vote of mine will the appropriations neccessary for the efficient maintenance of the Army be refused. It is competent tor uongress to aeciare unaer wnai nraiutuuua and upon what conditions the appropriation is to be made. The form in which this is done I regard as immaterial. In my judgment it would have been best to adhere to the usual form; but as it has been deenled advisable to make the necessary appropriations in another manner, I shall, in order to secure unanmity, acquiesce in the decision of the majority. But in no event can I consent to aid in disbanding the Army or impairing its efficiency. It is the army of the South as well as of the North ; it is the Army of the whole country. In its history, from the days of the Revolution, through its achievments of 1S1'2 and the glories of the Mexican war, I have some reason, by right of birth and blood to be proud. In the late civil contest, on many a bloody field, I tested its valor, and no word nor act of mine shall depreciate its value or lessen its usefulness. But because I so regard it, no act of mine shall tend to degrade its rank and file into a police squad nor convert its officers into detectives. I will not so legislate that against its own honorable instincts and traditions it shall be the instrument of tyranny in the hands of a factious party or of an executive who might be so unscrupulous as to use it unlawfully. Nor shall I consent, because of any difference of opinion upon. matters of legislation between the majority and the minority, or between the majority and the President, to close the courts of justice, stop the administration of the Departments, and embarrass the necessary and orderly life of the Government. The Constitution, which I have not idly sworn to suport, has provided the means by which an appeal to the country can be taken, and it is for the people to decide whether the presidential veto has been wisely and patriotically used to defeat the will of this Congress which represents a vast majority of the citizens of the United States. My duty will have l>een performed when I have used all the power with which that Constitution has entrusted me. The President and the minority in Congress must be responsible for the use of theirs. And while these are my general views of duty, I certainly have no inducement, 110 disposition, "...l A + Hi CllllJill IcliV) cue [Iltacni AUiuuiioviubivii* It is ii source of profound regret to me that the President could not find himself able to j approve the bills he has vetoed. To me they seem to embody but simple declarations of con-1 stitutional principles, and to be in entire con- [ formity with the policy which he has announced repeatedly as the one that he would pursue. I Hut I aiu not disposed, on account of this dif-j ference, grave though it be, to denounce his ac-: tlon nor to impugn his motives. I am well j aware that his position is not easy nor his responsibility light. I remember, and the people whom I represent remember, that in a critical period of our history, in disregard of the pas-j sionsaiul in opposition to the wishes of the par-! ty who placed him in his present position, with ! doubt as to the result of his independent action, i moved, as I honestly believe, by his convictions of duty, he withdrew the Federal troops from the State-houses of South Carolina andLouisi-, ana, thus enabling the people of these States to restore their local governments to those who I represent the popular will, as well as the char- j acter, the intelligence, and the property of the two States. For this action, wise and patriotic as I am sure that history will record it, I for one am grateful. And while in the honest and necessary party differences which must arise in a free country it will be my duty, with all the energy and ability I possess, to oppose the partisan policy of which he is the representative. my opposition shall not be captious. Nor shall I, by bitter and acrimonious censure, drive him into dependence on those who would, in their selfish rush for power, trample on him and on us. I trust, therefore, in what I have to say, that I shall oe able to speak with truth and soberness. What, then, let me ask again, are the issues before tne country upon which any action of ours can be Called revolutionary and treasonable? If the repealing acts which have been suggested were passed to-day, we should simply be remanded to the legislation under which the country has lived and moved and had its being for seventy-five years of its existence. Can such a restoration lie revolution or treason ? Surely not, unless the intervening war has so changed our relations to each other that the old constitutional legislation is no longer applicable to our condition; and yet this is really what Senators on the other side would have the country believe. I ask, in all candor, would such legislation as we now seek to rei?eal have been conceived or defended by any statesman before the late war? Would any President, from 1789 to 1861, ever have dreamed of sending an army of the United States to keep the peace at the iiolls, or of appointing Federal supervisors and marslials to superintend the popular ballot? If not, then the necessity for the maintenance of this legislation .arises from something new in the. relations of the States to the Union. Will any Senator point out what that new element is? If any exists, what is the difference irr the relations a State holds to the Union to-day and those of the same State before the war? If there is none, and I venture to say that none can be pointed out, wherein consists the necessity for such legislation to-day which did not exist then? This question should, I think, be fairly answered, because it is the point upon which the accusations against the South rest. If all that we ask is what existed for three-quarters of a century of our existence, how can it be revolutionary nr treasonable to make this demand? If the democratic doctrine that Federal troops cannot lawfully used at the polls, or cannot interfere in State matters unless specially requested to do so by the constituted authorities of a State be a heresy, we have the strongest republican authority to sustain that heresy. In his message to the Legislature of Pennsylvania, in January, 1871, Governor John W. Geary used the following language: The employment of troops of the United States at elections, without the consent of the local and State governmenta, has recently received considerable attention and reprehension. * * Under any circams'ances, in my opinion, it is unsafe and antagonistic to the principles that should govern our republican institutions. Ac the last October elections, United States troops were stationed in Philadelphia for the avowea purpose of enforcing the election lawB. This was done without the consent or even the knowledge of tbe civil authorities of either the city or the State, and without any expressed desire on the part of the citizens, and, as far as can be ascertained, without existing necessity. The democratic party stands to-day where Governor Geary, a staunch republican, stood then. Nor are we without other and equally as high republican authority to sustain the position taken by our party. Hon. Carl Schurz, now a distinguished member of the present Cabinet, in his place on this. floor, made this memorable protest against the scandalous and unconstitutional use of Federal soldiery in Louisiana: United States soldiers, with fixed bayonets, decided the case against them, and took them out of the legislative hall by force. I cannot, therefore, escape from the deliberate conviction, *-*.?? 1 ? ii 1? #???a *L.i tv - a conviction conscientiously lurmeu, ium uio deed done on the 4th of January, in the Statehouse of Louisiana, by the military forces of the United States, constitutes a gross and manifest violation of the Constitution and laws of this Repnblio. If this can be done in Louisiana, and if such a thing be sustained by Congress, how long will it be before it can be done in Massachusetts and Ohio 7 He who in a place like onrs fails to stop, or even justifies a blow at the fundamental laws of the land, makes himself the accomplice of those who strike at the life of the Republic and at the liberties of the people. The present able Secretary of State, Mr. Evarts, in his great speech on the same subject in New York, was even more emphatic than his colleague iif the Cabinet, and his words could well be adopted now to formulate the creed of the democratic party. He used the following language: When men vote, and when their chosen officers meet, and when without violence and without demonstration of insurrection they undertake to conduct the affairs of their political government^uo soldiers can interfere. There are two very distinct firm lines of limitation, which observed, will protect the machinery of the Government for the people to-day; that is, that the sole Intervention of the Federal power within State authority shall be to suppress violence, and that their office after that shall not assume to go further unless when invited by the supreme authority of the State. What use is it to give the purse and the sword to the House of Commons if the King or the President by military power- can determine what shall be the constitution of the House of i Commons or the House of Congress 7- And this is what they fought for in England. * * And for this reason the people of the United States are justified in assuming that the supreme civil pow -t. -1 1 miUfnun AM/4 Ihfif ?A ' or Hllttll UUIUIIJUIU uvcji UIC uiiuioij! aim ku?? mv merging of them or interference with them shall be permitted. Now Mr. President, shall we be denounced 1 simply because we plant ourselves, not only [ where the fathers of the Republic stood, but where the great lights of the republican party 1 have declared the only true constitutional po- J sition can be found. Now, sir, I venture to ' assert that underlying the whole argument on the other side are two assumptions: first, that the war lias so* developed the independent existence of the Federal Government as distin- 1 guished from the States, as to give it greater ! power, larger influence, and more direct interest in congressional elections than it possessed before; second, that the Administration, as j the representative of that party which elected it and in control of the Federal machinery, is bound to use that power and influence in the protection of these interests. In other words, : that the privileges and prerogatives of the 1 States are to be obliterated, not by force, but by the subtler though not less destructive in- | ttuences of the two great national parties using ; the powers of the Federal government as weap- , ons of party warfare. Now, I do not propose to make any constitutional argument on this subject. It is sutfl- : cient for me to say that I hold the form and character of our government to liave been un- 1 altered by the late war, and that the mutual relations of the General Government and the 1 several States of the Union remain precisely ( as they were when the union was formed. I 1 hold that the recent constitutional amendments 1 have wrought no change in these relations and 1 in these views. I am sustained by the lan- 1 guage of the Supreme Court of the United 1 States in the case of The Collector vs. Day, reported in eleventh volume Wallace. In this ' case, Justice Nelson, in delivering the opinio# '< of the court, used the following language: < The General Government and the States, al- ' though both exist within the same territorial 1 limits, are separate and distinct sovereignties, 1 acting separately and independently of each oth- 1 er within their respective spheres. j In the same decree the ensuing words are < used: ! Such being the separate and independent condition of the States in our complex system, as < recognized by the Constitution, and the exist- i ence of which is so indispensable that without 1 them the General Government itself would dis- ( appear from the family of nations, Ac. ( I maintain, therefore, that the Constitution i lias not been changed in its essential features , by the late amendments, and that it is there- i fore now what it was before the war, so that 1 when the country demanded the perservation j of ttie Union by a restoration of the States, it i meant such a Union and such States as the Constitution recognized. Can any advocate of ] a strong government, which is but another < term for centralization, suppose for one in- ] stant that the founders of our Republic contemplated or would have countenanced the exercise of such powers by the Federal Gov- j eminent as are claimed for it by the legisla- \ tion we are seeking to repeal? l)oes any Sen- i ator here believe that this is a safe, a whole- ] some condition of public affairs? Putting ] aside all extreme theories of State rights, does i not every Senator recognize the fact that one of i the elements of our political safety has been ] the manner in which local State interests have i acted and reacted within the States upon na- f tional politics, so that until just before the war :1 we never have had great national parties i which divided thercountiy lietween them sim- [ 1 ply on Federal issues. Local influences had ] always to lie considered. But if in the "future i i we are to have only great national parties, in ! i behalf of one or the other of which the Admin-' ] istration is to interfere directly, we are on the < high road to a consolidation even more dan- ! gerpus because more violent and variable than i a recognized change in the Government. 1 My objection, therefore, to this legislation i which the war called forth is not its immedi- | ate danger. It is pot the actual Army which i I fear, or its direct influence. But I do most strenuously object to any legislation which affords any excuse or justification to the Government that it has the right or interest in any way or in any degree to interfere with the perfect freedom of elections. The roughness or even riot of an election is no greater than any other violation of the peace; and no State in this Union is without ample means of suppression. And if the State authorities are unable or unwilling to do their duty, you have not now, you will not have for generations to come, an Army strong enough to take their place. U is better so ; better tliat in one or two great States, there should be temporary turbulence, confusion, than that in the whole country there should be military desi>otism. Congress has the right to decide who shall take his seat as representative and who shall not. Congress can punish with disfranchisement any community which would force into these Halls an improperly elected member ; and that is a safer, a surer, a more constitutional safeguard than the exercise of any doubtful or unlawful power by the Federal Government. But, Mr. President, unjust as have been the assumptions against the South to which I have alluded, there are others not less grave. There has run through this whole discussion > the strong and steady current of insinuation that the South is not true to the Union ; that its object in pressing the repeal of those measures which we deem dangerous to our liberties is to give us a freer field for conspiracy and a better opportunity to suppress by force and fraud the real voice of the southern people. We are tauntingly told that proof of these charges is found in the presence on this floor of twenty-two members who served in the Confederate army, and the South is reproached, nay, denounced, for sending such men to rep- , resent her here. Sir, the answer to this charge is simple. Nearly every man in the South who could bear arms was in her armies, and she can scarcely be reproached with justice for trust- ing and honoring in peace the men who risked their fortunes and their lives for her in war. And when the . fact is cited that while the ^ South sends so many of her old soldiers to represent her in this august assembly, the North sends but four, I submit that the reproach, if reproach rests anywhere, belongs rather 4o the North than to the South. I feel that I but speak the sentiments of every man here who was in the Confederate service when I express my deep regret that there are "not in this Chamber more of the men'who met us in. battle, for if opposed to us politically, they would, if true soldiers and gentlemen, treat us with the respect that brave men never fail to accord to each other. And, sir, had these ? A*\rvrtnm/? n i no tirliinll frtl* VOQW3 gicat/ up?AS0iug aiuiiuo nuivu iv& jluua jvwm confronted each other in a death grapple been ^ left to make and enforce the terms of peace, not only would the country have been spared much of the suffering and the humiliation it has experienced, but it would have enjoyed a peace honorable alike to conquerors and con- \ quered. We should long ere this have seen a union re-established on the basis of fraternal reconciliation and a whole people bound together by the indissoluble bonds of mutual res- pect, common interests, and a common destiny. Such, at least, is the firm conviction of every true soldier in the South, and all her sons wer? soldiers. Nor is "this conviction wanting among the brave soldiers of the North, for I have heard it expressed by them time and again. That the men who truly represent th6 South are here to-day is due mainly to our friends on the other side. When you insisted that the States should return to the Union : when you called upon them to send back their Representatives, did you mean what you said, or did you mean the Southern States to be rotten boroughs to be filled by nominations of the repub- lican party ? Indeed, did you not for fifteen years make them so ? And I will leave it to the candor of republican Senators to say whether they are satisfied with the result of the experiment they made at such frightful cost to us and the whole country. We are here because we do represent the popular majority, the character, the intelligence, and the property of the States which have sent us. We are here because, left to themselves, the instincts of the recently enfranchised voters have taught them that their interests are* identical with : ours. We are here because, belonging to your own race, trained in the same political experience as your own, taught by years of rule how to govern, we could not be subor dinated, and the people of the country did not wish us to be subordinated, to such a mass of ignorant voters as you had rashly, and suddenly created. We are here, we trust, for the good of the whole country. What we were you knew when you insisted that we should still be part and parcel of this Union. For the past you cannot expect us to apologize ; to do so would be to sacrifice our own self-respect and to forfeit the respect of all honorable men. In the heat of the conflict We struck hard blows, and doubtless spoke hard words. But does the remembeifhg or repeating them now bring us any nearer the peace and harmony for which the whole country so ardently longs? The men who served in the opposing armies are now the strongest advocates of a4rue reconciliation. We learned in a common school how to respect our enemies; we learned that personal courage and honor and truth were better guarantees of patriotism than constitutional learning or eloquent speech; we learned at least that in spite of differences, even unto death, there was a common country which we could better serve in friendship than in hatred, and were our antagonists of the late war here to-day. in the contests on this floor as in fiercer battles of yore, whoever might be the victor, we -\ should be aitsured of a fair field and an honest surrender. [Applause in the galleries.] Judge us more by our acts ' ^ The Presiding Officer, (Mr. Wallace in the chair.) The Senator will suspend. The Chair gives notice that if further applause occurs in the galleries he will order them to be cleared. Order must be preserved. - ? Mr. HAatPTON. Judge us now by our acts; T ^ 11. i^ tiuu iijjiiui x cvah. wiiai are tuey iu piuvu&e uiatrustr We ask you to strike from the statute-book legislation which was as much the instrument of war, the expression of distrust, as were armies ana navies and military districts. We say, if you bring us back as States, treat us as States. We ask you to remove the disability which forbids a citizen to serve on a jury When it does not forbid him to serve on the bench. We ask you to leave the ballotiiox free, as it has been through nearly the whole 01 our political existence. You may refuse. You have the right to refuse if you hold our demands to be unwise or unconstitutional. But surely in the face of the recent decision * of the Supreme Court in regard to the juror's oath, in face of the legislation of nearly a century in reference to military interference at the polls, you cannot charge us with revolution or treason in making these requests. Upon these issues we are willing to stand. If the people are with us we shall prevail- and this war legislation will be repealed. If the people are with you, then this legislation will stand mrl -rim non loom fn 0H0nt mironlxroo fn fhnon H1U fTv vuu 1^1*1 U liU UUU[/V UUitX/lTW- VVJ wnvov changes in our old constitutional thoughts md habits as we have learned to adapt ourselves to others. In the great contest in which we failed we lost much. We lost power and ^ wealth and precious lives. But when the people of the United States declare that the right )f self-government is extinguished in the States; that the prerogative of a free vote, which is the distinguishing glory of American ' ntizenship, can be exercised only under the mpervision of a Federal marshal or the projection of a Federal soldier; that the duties )f Governors and Legislatures to maintain the lignity and preserve the peace of sovereign states has been transferred to the President; md when it has become revolution and trea?n to ask the people to consider these things, ;hen will the memory of our poor losses be forgotten in the overwhelming calamities which would follow the loss of American freedom. \ thousand years scarce serve to form a State; \n hour may lay it in the dust, and when 3an man its shattered splendors renovate, ^ Recall its virtues back, and vanquish time and fate. Mr President, patriotic men of all parties, North and South, can join heart and hand in die effort to perpetuate on this continent conititutional liberty as established by our fathers. [11 this noble work we of the South will not prove laggards. We wish to promote the best interest of the whole country ; we wish to restore harmony and good-will; we hope to see permanent peace and widespread prosperity among all classes of our people ; we desire to see the painful memories of the late unhappy " war buried in our hearts, not rising to the lips in bitter words which can only provoke sectional animosity, and we proposej in spite of misapprehension, misrepresentation, and denunciation, to stand firmly by the Constitution in its integrity, to maintain the Union in per- ?v petuity, trusting, hoping, praying that to our children, if not to us, it may lie given to see the States of this mighty Republic bound together, not alone by the ties of material interest, but by the cords of true fraternity, ruled by a great, a happy, a free people crowned with all the glories which God in his infinite mercy can bestow. [Applause in the galleries, j